Singapore, a small Southeast Asian country with limited resources, transformed itself from a trading post to a successful, cosmopolitan nation with one of the most impressive growth rates in the world. Less well known, however, has been its role in regional and global trade negotiations. This book is a collection of sixteen essays written by a group of diplomats, policy-makers, and professors who became involved in international economic affairs, notably in GATT/WTO, regional and bilateral free trade negotiations. Here, they reveal their thoughts about the world economy and trading system, reflect on their experiences, and explain how they promoted national interests while advancing the global trade agenda. This book will appeal not only to professional diplomats, but to anyone interested in how international economic diplomacy works and Singapore's role and perspective as an open trading nation.
Contents:
- Singapore's Economic Diplomacy: An Introduction (B Desker et al.)
- Essays and Reflections on Multilateralism:
- The WTO Institutional Reforms: Issues and Prospects (C M See)
- Informal Caucuses Within the WTO: Singapore in the “Invisibles Group” (B Desker)
- Anti-Dumping Negotiations in the Uruguay Round: Reflections of a Singapore Negotiator (M Liang)
- Intellectual Property Rights in the Uruguay Round (S Tiwari)
- A New Approach to Trade Negotiations? (V G Menon)
- Domestic Regulations in Services: A Chairman's Perspective (P Govindasamy)
- Future Trends in Intellectual Property and Impact on Trade and Development (G Yu)
- My Experiences with the WTO Dispute Settlement System (T Koh)
- The WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore (K Kesavapany)
- Essays and Reflections on Free Trade Agreements:
- An Intuitive Guide to the Services Chapter of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (Y K Ong)
- Some Lessons from Past FTA Disputes (C L Lim)
- ASEAN's Journey Towards Free Trade (D S S Chin)
- The Road to Free Trade Agreements (B K Ng & N O Minn)
- Multilateral or Regional — WTO “and/or” FTAs? An Academic's View of the Trenches (M Ewing-Chow)
- The China–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (B K Ng)
- The Japan–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (K K Pang)
Readership: Statesmen, policy makers, professional diplomats, scholars and anyone who may be interested in international trade negotiations.
“The reflections in this book, offered by experienced Singaporean negotiators who have been at the frontline of regional and multilateral trade talks, vividly convey the process and dynamics of trade negotiations; they provide fascinating insights for any policy maker and negotiator working in the field.”
Supachai Panitchpakdi
Secretary-General of UNCTAD
“Singapore has faced the challenge of globalization with both astute strategy and plucky self-reliance. As part of Singapore's strategy, it has developed a cadre of trade policy experts with extraordinary skill and experience. This remarkable volume brings together a group of these experts to offer the benefits of that skill and experience to the rest of the world. This essential book fascinates and informs, but also will play a critical role in preparing trade policy professionals from around the world.”
Professor Joel P Trachtman
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
“Singapore has made a huge contribution to the development of the multilateral trading system, way beyond what might be envisaged from a nation of its relatively modest proportions. Why? Because strong multilateral rules tend to dilute the ‘law of the jungle’ and promote a more level playing field. How? Read this book and you will find out.”
Stuart Harbinson
former Chairman
WTO General Council
“With its mix of technical articles and personal narratives of the negotiation processes, this volume is an invaluable resource for those interested in economic diplomacy and multilateral legal negotiations.”
Tony Chew
Chairman
Singapore Business Federation
“This collection covers the whole range of international trade policy, bringing together the experience of the past with the perspectives of the future. It is a testimony to the great importance of smaller players in working for solutions and improvements in the multilateral context. Singapore is in the front row of the ‘friends of the system’, and the multilateral system is fortunate to have such friends.”
Renato Ruggiero
former Director-General
WTO
“The book is well worthwhile for readers with an interest in Singapore' trade diplomacy. It provides a valuable set of accounts that shed light on both the multilateral processes that govern the WTO and the dynamics of bilateral bargaining in preferential trade agreements.”
Pacific Affairs
Professor C L Lim is Academic Dean and Professor of Law at Hong Kong University, and from 2009–2012, Visiting Professor of Law at King's College London. Previously, he taught at the National University of Singapore and served in the Singapore Attorney-General's Chambers as an international law advisor and counsel to Singapore in its free trade negotiations. Before that, he worked at UNCC's Governing Council Secretariat in Geneva handling Gulf War reparations, following an academic career in England. He has provided consulting and support to APEC, the WTO, various governments and non-governmental organizations. He is an editor of the Chinese Journal of International Law, and the Journal of Korea Trade. His recent speaking engagements include talks delivered at WTO Headquarters in Geneva, the Harvard International Law Journal's 2009 Symposium, the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Melbourne University's Asian Law Centre, Tillar House in Washington D C and the American Society of International Law's 2008 Annual Conference. His recent press interviews include “China's Coming of Age in the WTO War”, Forbes, 20 April 2009.
He offers regular courses on Global Business Law, International Economic Law, and Human Rights.
Professor Lim was educated in England and the United States, is married and now lives in Hong Kong.
Margaret Liang is Consultant to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for WTO/Trade Issues; Adjunct Professor of the National University of Singapore Law Faculty; Adjunct Fellow of the Rajaratnam School of International Relations, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Senior Fellow of the MFA Diplomatic Academy, and Associate Trainer of the Civil Service College, Singapore. Before that, she served as Director (Trade Policy) of the Singapore Trade Development Board and subsequently as Director of the International Economics Directorate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She has served in Singapore Missions in Bonn and in Geneva. She was Singapore's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN/WTO in Geneva from 1999-2002. She has been actively involved in GATT/WTO negotiations since the launch of the Uruguay Round and was Singapore's negotiator for the Rules negotiations. She has served as Chair and panelist in several dispute settlement cases under the GATT and the WTO.
She regularly conducts trade policy courses under Singapore's technical assistance programmes for developing countries, and in particular to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. She was the Academic Coordinator for the 2008 and 2009 WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for the Asia-Pacific countries, a joint cooperation between the WTO and the Singapore National University Law Faculty.
